Baltimore Ravens players asked Michael Phelps to teach them how to swim. The 23-time Olympic gold medalist answered the call.
In a social media video, Ravens Marlon Humphrey, Ronnie Stanley, Kyle Hamilton and Charlie Kolar invited Phelps, a Baltimore native and longtime Ravens fan, to visit their training camp. They said that one in three Ravens players could not swim.
Ravens players joined Phelps at Loyola University’s Mangione Aquatic Center, where Phelps’ name is on the wall signifying his pool records.
Phelps brought Cathy Bennett, who taught him how to swim at age 7 despite a young Phelps being afraid to put his face in the water.
“Start with baby steps,” Phelps said in a TODAY interview. “I know it might sound crazy, but try just blowing bubbles in the water. Become more vulnerable. I think that’s something that a lot of people are afraid of. Jump right in. Literally jump in. Come jump in with me.”
Phelps has been a water safety advocate dating back to his competitive career. In 2008, he launched the Michael Phelps Foundation, which includes a learn-to-swim program.
Phelps has a longtime association with the Ravens, including a friendship with Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis.
In 2008 and 2016, Phelps’ Olympic races were shown on the M&T Bank Stadium big screen during Ravens preseason games.
A young Phelps considered trying out for his high school football team, but it wasn’t feasible given the time necessary for swimming, which for years meant seven-days-per-week training.
Phelps and Lewis each gave huddled speeches to the Ravens at practice. Phelps’ transcript:
“When I stood up on the block at World Championships, the Olympic Games, any major international competition, I knew I was the most prepared human on that pool deck. Because I know that nobody would have been doing what I was doing day-in and day-out. Getting up at 6 o’clock and getting in the pool, all the recovery, the eating, the stretching, all the small things. Stack those small things on top of each other. You’ve heard him say it so many times it. Those small things are the reason why I won a race by a hundredth of a second, five hundredths of a second, faster than you’re snapping your fingers. It’s what you do behind closed doors that no one sees that gives you the opportunity to stand out on this field every single week during the season and be great. Coach has got you all ready, right? But every single day you have to be on top of those small things. You miss a step, you’re giving your opponent something else. For me, every single box was checked off. When I stepped up on the block, I knew what was going to happen. My dreams and my goals were bigger than anybody else on the planet, especially in the swimming pool. I worked the hardest. That’s why I got the results. So for me, when I step up, it’s preparation only. There were times when I stepped up in the 2012 Olympics where I wasn’t fully prepared. I got the results that I deserved. Sometimes I didn’t make the podium. Sometimes I got second or third. That’s not what I want. I want to be up top. So, for me, that’s why I came back in ’16. I said, I’m doing it my way, because when I retired I wanted to hang my suit up and say I’ve done everything I could put my mind to. 23 Olympic golds, that was it.”
🐐 talk @raylewis @MichaelPhelps pic.twitter.com/3IN4UPKd4e
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 12, 2025
